iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Ack, have 2 of these and they are absolutely my favourite home tech in the house. Fingers crossed access to my local RAID drive will work post may.

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

A peer reviewed paper just got accepted - and I'm torn between sharing good news with my collaborators and sampling local Hyderabadi Indian cuisine. #toughchoices

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Reposted by Thomas Swift

Molecular Titans Ltd @moleculartitans.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

The family is growing! We are delighted to be hosting a summer intern to validate our process Chemistry. In turn Kiera is becoming our 'first' temporary employee of Moleculsr Titans!

Yes, study came out in 2022, but this is why conferences are so important so we can have interdisciplinary conversations and discuss complex data as a group. Raw tezt here is anyone wants: www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10....

Study started in Canada with Healthcare workers with no immunity. As it was replicated in other countries staff gained immunity and effect size was lost. Therefore N95 most important in early stages of new disease spread to intervene for diseases with low immunity in the population

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The trial was repeated in 3 other countries and... yes. The effect decreased. It decreased as more health workers had more antibodies and greater immunity as time went on. By the 3rd wave, effect was lost. But for the first 2 waves N95 were crucial for saving lives!

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In Canada surgeons actually did a randomized trial, of their surgeons wearing normal PPE or the N95 mask. They ignored anyone who had COVID before, only looked at first infections, N95 masks clearly made a major difference preventing infection in the first 2 waves of the pandemic.

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

So... today I was at an infectious disease conference and I finally saw in black and white an answer COVID grifters spent 2020/21 meaning about. 'Where is the evidence N95 masks help prevent COVID?' Well. It exists. Now. Finally. It takes time to do high quality science and full data integrity...

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So today, I presented in Rome at a Global Infectious Disease congress, my PhD student is presenting in Sheffield @YRM_2025 and all appears to have been a grand success. No idea how she's celebrating but my hotel has a pool..

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

I've an MSc student doing this now... Or rather testing the culture mediums each time to see how pure they are. Am curious what the results show

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Option 1) 99% standard solvent, 1% deuterated. Stretch those supplies. out make it last! Option 2) 100% standard solvent, glass insert with deuterated for lock - reusable. Really helps with solvent shimming and baseline. Both options still give massive solvent peak but suppression is very good now

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

I know it really isn't the answer you're looking for but I've found 2 options for my lab to run standard routines on non publication critical work - to a certain extent both rely on solvent suppression (NOESY has come a long way). It means any solvent - sample overlaps are... yeah. not good

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Work has sent me to Rome, but I got 1 afternoon free today to get bus into centre to explore. Crazy to think a generation of people 'sort of' know this city intimately because of Assassin's Creed games - and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint exploring!

I've spent many hours exploring s virtual Castel Saint'angelo - now I've seen the real thing finally!

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

All absolutely necessary though. And we were developing medical diagnostics - devices to test for disease. The ethical approval hoops we jumped through to help treat people and make them better. There's a reason you only let clinical professionals handle this - wouldn't dream of doing ourselves

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Polymer nanotechnology functional contact lens I produced in labs as part of a postdoctoral project went to pre-clinical, animal efficacy and safety trials about 10 years ago. The paperwork producing SOPs for production, setting sterility batch testing procedures, packaging and shipping... wow.

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

My PhD student delivered a faculty 3 minute thesis competition yesterday and I've had good feedback - unfortunately work meant I was 50 miles north at the time so had to miss out. A great dry run before she presents at the Macro YRM in Sheffield on the 10th of June! #polymerchemistry

PhD candidates getting certificates after 3 minute thesis

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Just arrived in the hotel ready for the morning start. Am an academic biomaterials scientist very keen to explore our technologies in infection management. If I see you (or you see me, Tom Swift, please do say Hi as this is my first time)

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Lot of people voted reform because they are unhappy main political parties. But I'm yet to see any evidence Nigel Farage and his ilk are not grifters. Take the country seriously and stop mucking up every day British peoples livelihoods you schmooks www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

independent.co.uk

Reform mayor vows to sack council’s diversity officers - except there aren’t any

Dame Andrea Jenkyns has doubled down on Farage’s pledge to sack diversity officers in Lincolnshire but the county council has revealed it does not employ any

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

My smart watch has started telling me things I already knew! Still... Nice to have it documented. Self improvement is hard

Health app screenshkt reports that April was a very stressful month

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Leeds City Centre is showing its best face for the BSRC Sparking Innovation conference! Park Plaza conference suite has open glass walls facing out over the city hall. Joined them to find out and contribute to the future of innovation funding opportunities available and upcoming in this sector

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

First night of the Rothwell Beer Festival, kicking off 3 days of responsible drinking to raise money to charity! Always a stressful moment as we kick off the event, getting purchases sorted and ticket sales going, but I feel like everything will be alright!

Warm weather in the parish grounds for festival goers

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Some things to celebrate after today. A fantastic day networking followed by a stroke of well timed news. Looking forward to the opportunities this will bring over the summer!

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Delighted to have just given @moleculartitans.bsky.social their first public outings, discussing needs within public health authorities and how our materials offer new routes forward, at the @bionow.bsky.social Yorkshire Partnering event. Hopefully some exciting developments will follow!

Tom Swift speaks at the Bionow Yorkshire Partnering Event.

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Jason Jones is presenting at BioNow's Yorkshire biopartnering event - introducing the BDH programme that will follow CAYMAN and SIBLING. £4 million UK funds supporting 100 SME businesses in West Yorkshire- has been great to be part of these schemes working for academic-industry partnerships

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Meanwhile I've been part of the volunteer team preparing for next week's Rothwell Beer Festival! 40 casks loaded and ready for sale - all profits for charitable causes. Anyone in Leeds region Thursday- Saturday next week get tickets from www.rothwellbeerfestival.co.uk

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Trying to relax over the weekend and my family have decided to try planting for harvest. Now we have pots of earth squirrels over ever spare cm of indoor space that might catch the light!

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

A fortnight ago we got another rejection that simply said 'we are solely focused on technologies in an advanced state'... We have 2 granted international patent families! We have £20k funding to launch a spin out company. How much more advanced do you need?

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Grant rejections suck. They particularly suck when the only legible negative part of the feedback is 'There were some concerns about the relevant experience and skills of the proposed team'

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

We got my daughter a Walkie Talkie for Christmas. She loved the concept, but in practice seems to find the idea of people contacting her odd. if anyone calls her through it her go to response to anyone using it is demanding 'what's the matter?' as sternly as she can muster.

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

There's a lot more to say before this story completely wraps up - but right now our focus is on the students and apprentices still with us who we hope to do right by. Senior management team have committed to teaching out all currently enrolled students. www.chemistryworld.com/news/chemist...

chemistryworld.com

Chemistry courses to be shut down at the University of Bradford

Closures are part of a trend seen across UK universities

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Farewell Swadin Chakraborty, who finishes his 3 month visit from IIT Kharagpur to our labs, going home after a very productive stay. Funded by BBSRC Spark he's kicked off what could be a great larger interdisciplinary collaboration developing new materials

If we could have had conversations about workload peaks and troughs, about support in busy periods... wow. My life would be different. Instead it was just 'you are not managing your workload well and we expect you to do better going forwards. Have you tried enforcing digital detox at weekends?'

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I was definitely suffering workplace burnout anxiety. And all our team could say was 'turn off your emails and more breaks'. Yes, I would, but you have set my workload to 110% and I am using every hour of the day to catch up on a backlog, and thats ignoring my own research ambitions.

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'The paradigm should shift from conflict to flexibility, from technology detox to flow driven use, and from the digital dark side to digital mindfulness'. 2020 / 21 would have been a lot better with some of this training beforehand

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Been on a line managers training course for last 6 months that is coming to an end. As part of the final s Reading list just come across a package, written in 2016, that warned about the storm work from home culture would lead to...

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We also supported over 15 SME businesses locally. The loss of science apprenticeships in the region will be devastating to West Yorkshire manufacturing. Higher education desperately needs government support and re-focusing on skills that are necessary for the UK knowledge economy

Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

We had a very effective (and profitable) apprentice programme running for the Level 6 Laboratory scientist Apprenticeship scheme - and our current cohort may be our last! We built this programme from nothing and attracted several international companies, it was a pleasure to be programme leader!

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

It's official then! Students were told over a week ago, us a month ago - now the newspapers have picked up on the story. There will be no Chemistry intake at Bradford this September. Am gutted the team has not been able to secure ongoing support. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bradfor...

timeshighereducation.com

Bradford threatened with strike over job cuts and course closures

Union fears as many as 300 jobs could go at Yorkshire university, plus courses in chemistry and film and television

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

So - yes, as the field has clearly taken off - this work goes back and rebuilds on something we quietly snuck into the ESI of a Journal of Chromatograpy A work! But the idea never died and I'm so glad it's found a suitable home in Analytica Chimica Acta. J Chrom A Link: doi.org/10.1016/j.ch...

sciencedirect.com

Analysis using size exclusion chromatography of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) using methanol as an eluent

Size Exclusion Chromatography is traditionally carried out in either aqueous or non-polar solvents. A system to present molar mass distributions of po…

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Particularly happy to see this out as - my first draft was written and submitted to journals all the way back in 2017. Several editors deemed it unimportant. Since then we have seen several groups develop DOSY of polymers - different solvents, temperatures, move to benchtop instruments. Big steps!

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

#newmanuscript Delighted that our analysis of the kinds of steps needed to overcome challenges examining high molar mass polymers using DOSY NMR techniques has been accepted and is available online. Anyone interested can find the early copies here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

TOC Graphic showing the NMR tracking of solvent Diffusion to determine in solution viscosity of DOSY measurements. Small polymers have minimal impact whilst larger polymers increase viscosity at low concentrations, and demand increased hardware scope to cope with slow diffusion speeds

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Excellent news to end a rather harrowing week - my 48th peer reviewed scientific article has just been accepted in the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents! Quite a side step compared to what I normally do - heavy on Tim of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy to study biological samples!

Surface profilometry of the materials we were analysing by TOF-SIMS!
Await the paper to find out more!

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Over on LinkedIn we are celebrating @rsc.org poster competition. Here is my #RSCMat summarising our work on soluble bionanotechnology using highly branched polymers. Delighted to engage and discuss with anyone who wants to know more about the applications of this innovative technology!

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Thomas Swift @swifthom.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Delighted to be hosting Swadhin Chakraborty from IIT Kharagpur in our labs in Bradford. He's visiting us for three months to get some experience making branched polymers - am looking forward to some more exciting collaborations!

We have a fairly decent pipeline of filtering fresh ultra pure water each morning we are planning to run the instrument, setting up and running over night. The filter equipment setup itself is definitely the weak point of our workflow.

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It would be interesting to try. We need about 400 ml of stuff per analysis however - and can go through 3 or 4 a day when the machine is in heavy use. Also, once a container is opened we only have 2 to 3 days of use before fungi etc. start to propagate.

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Currently filtering water through a 0.1 micron membrane for light scattering experiments. 18.2 MHz conductivity is not pure enough - we spend hours refining this to ensure there's no trace of dirt whatsoever! #chemsky

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Most of the work under #chemsky from our group is equal commercial and fundamental. We have had brilliant funding from CAYMAN and now SIBLING projects to support local businesses with state of the art scientific analysis - the FFF being just one important innovation!

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